Mules and Cart
Mules and Cart
Oscar Edmund Berninghaus
American, 1874 - 1952
Pencil Drawing
6 x 10 in. (15.2 x 25.4 cm)
In 1920, the De Lore Baryta Company and J.C. Finck Mineral Milling Company commissioned Berninghaus to create a comprehensive visual record of barytes mining in Washington County, Missouri. The resulting works—oil paintings and pencil sketches created from life in the Ozark foothills—appeared in The Story of Barytes, a landmark publication documenting the region's mining heritage. These artworks served a dual purpose: capturing industrial processes and mining life with artistic integrity while preserving an irreplaceable record of early twentieth-century labor and landscape transformation.
Study of a miner and mule-drawn wagon, illustrating the primary transportation method used for hauling ore in the Washington County mining fields. This drawing captures a specific moment of work—the mechanics of moving heavy material through difficult terrain—and the relationship between human and animal in the extraction and movement of minerals.
Oscar E. Berninghaus (1874–1952) was one of America's most significant twentieth-century artists. Born in St. Louis and trained at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts, Berninghaus became known as "America's Foremost Portrayer of Western Life and Scenes." A founding member of the Taos Society of Artists, he won numerous prestigious awards and maintained deep artistic roots in his native Missouri, creating major works for the Missouri State Capitol and the City Art Museum of St. Louis.
Study of a miner and mule-drawn wagon, illustrating the primary transportation method used for hauling ore in the Washington County mining fields. This drawing captures a specific moment of work—the mechanics of moving heavy material through difficult terrain—and the relationship between human and animal in the extraction and movement of minerals.
Oscar E. Berninghaus (1874–1952) was one of America's most significant twentieth-century artists. Born in St. Louis and trained at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts, Berninghaus became known as "America's Foremost Portrayer of Western Life and Scenes." A founding member of the Taos Society of Artists, he won numerous prestigious awards and maintained deep artistic roots in his native Missouri, creating major works for the Missouri State Capitol and the City Art Museum of St. Louis.
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Oscar Edmund Berninghaus
c. 1920
Oil on Artist's Board
